8th grade Math Guide

RESEARCH AND REFLECTIONS , STANDARDS-ALIGNMENT INFORMATION , TOOLS AND RESOURCES Part 2 of Math Intervention Strategies Addressing unfinished learning in the context of grade-level work

Not all unfinished learning should be treated the same way

By: Christina Allison

POSTED: 12/06/17

As a teacher, I had an understanding of the grade-level math content I was supposed to teach and the belief that students’ new learning had to build from their prior understanding. But the harsh reality was that most of the students in my class were several years below grade level, and I only had one school year to try to catch them up. At the time, I felt like I had to choose between two pathways — to move forward with grade-level work despite students’ gaps or halt grade-level instruction to build prerequisite knowledge.

Neither of these would provide equitable learning for my students.

In my current role as Director of Math Professional Learning at the Achievement Network (ANet), I’ve learned that I wasn’t the only teacher facing this challenge. In fact, it’s one of the most widespread challenges we hear from our school partners. And that’s why I’ve partnered with Astrid Fossum from Student Achievement Partners (SAP) over the past year to think more about what it means to address students’ unfinished learning in the context of grade-level work.

What is unfinished learning?

Unfinished learning refers to any prerequisite knowledge or skills that students need for future work that they don’t have yet . Previously, I’ve used the term gap or weakness to mean the same thing, but I prefer unfinished learning because it seems to inspire action rather than focusing on student deficits. Not all unfinished learning has the same effect on students’ ability to access grade-level content. In some cases, it will simply require more time or effort from students, similar to how road construction affects travel.

For example, a student who is not yet fluent with multiplication (5.NBT.B.5) may need more time or support when solving real-world and mathematical problems involving area, surface area, and volume (6.G.A), but should still be given an opportunity to engage with these types of grade-level problems.

This idea may be counterintuitive at first. Given the coherent nature of mathematics, I used to think that students couldn’t engage in grade-level work until they’d built all prerequisite skills. But now I see it differently — as an opportunity to help students “plug holes” or strengthen understanding.